Blake Bortles has surpassed Daunte Culpepper as greatest UCF player ever: Now it's time for him to go to the NFL

(Joshua C. Cruey, Orlando…)

January 2, 2014|Mike Bianchi, SPORTS COMMENTARY

GLENDALE, Ariz. — So long, Blake Bortles.

We're gonna miss you.

But it's time for you to go now.

Go to the NFL without any regrets.

You have done the inexplicable and the unimaginable.

You have supplanted Daunte Culpepper as the greatest quarterback and the greatest player in UCF history. You have taken the Knights to the Everest of college football — 12 wins, a conference championship, an almost certain top-10 ranking and one of the most shocking upsets in major bowl history.

UCF 52, Baylor 42.

BC-Yes!!!

Thousands of UCF fans at the Fiesta Bowl chanted, "One more year! … One more year!" as Bortles triumphantly trotted off the field after the game. Blake smiled and acknowledged the adoration, but in no way did he commit to their raucous requests.

"It's great and it's awesome that UCF fans want me to come back and be a part of this tradition that we're building," Bortles said after the game. "But I just want to enjoy this moment right now and then I'll sit down with my family and my coaches to decide what I should do."

What's there to decide, really? I certainly understand emotional UCF fans hoping and hollering for "One more year! One more year!" But let's be intellectually honest, shall we?

One more year would be one bad business move for Bortles, whom some draft experts believe could be the top quarterback picked and might go among the first few picks of the upcoming NFL Draft. Bortles has it all, and he showed it at the Fiesta Bowl, where he threw for more than 300 yards, ran for nearly 100 and outdueled a Baylor offense that was the highest-scoring in the history of college football. Bortles has everything the NFL desires. He's big (6-foot-4, 230 pounds), he's durable, he's strong-armed, he's mobile and, mostly, he's a winner.

Chicago Bears wide receiver Brandon Marshall, a former UCF star, was at the Fiesta Bowl on Wednesday night, and he said Bortles is more than ready for the NFL. In fact, Marshall says Bortles is a better prospect than Louisville quarterback Teddy Bridgewater or Texas A&M's Johnny Manziel.

"Blake's the No. 1 quarterback coming out and he'll be a star in the league," Marshall says. "His work ethic, just from being at UCF under coach (George) O'Leary, is unmatched compared to any other program."

Bortles is holding a winning lottery ticket, and he needs to cash it — now. Question for anybody out there who thinks Bortles should come back for his senior season: If you had a $10 million lottery ticket in your hand, would you set it on the nightstand for a year and risk it being stolen or would you cash it immediately?

Bortles has nothing more to prove and nothing to gain by staying at UCF. As a matter of fact, an argument could be made that he has everything to lose. Ask Georgia quarterback Aaron Murray if he's happy he came back for his senior season. The Bulldogs struggled to a mediocre record, and Murray blew out his knee late in the year. Who knows how much money he cost himself by staying in college an extra year?

As much as we'd all like to think that Bortles could come back next year and this young UCF team could be even better, isn't it much more likely that the Knights won't be as good? Let's face it, this was a magical season where everything went right for UCF. What happens next year if they don't win all the close games they won this year against Temple, Memphis, USF, Houston, SMU, Louisville and Penn State?

What happens if the offensive line doesn't stay completely healthy like it did this year and UCF suffers some key injuries? What happens if UCF is 6-7 next year instead of 12-1? Things can flip quickly in college football. Just ask the Gators, who won 11 games last year and four this year.

Bortles has done all he can do at UCF. His draft stock will never be higher, his legacy at UCF never more secure.

So long, Blake.

We're gonna miss you.

But your job is done, and you did it better than anybody ever has at UCF.

mbianchi@tribune.com. Follow him on Twitter @BianchiWrites. Listen to his radio show every weekday from 6 to 9 a.m. on 740 AM.